Why does rhythm make us want to occupy space differently?

Rhythm makes us want to occupy space differently because it imposes a temporary structure on time, and the body, seeking to align with that structure, reorganizes how it takes up space.

Alignment with structure

The body naturally seeks synchrony with a governing rhythm. To align, it shifts weight, adjusts posture, redistributes its presence. This is not conscious choreography; it is the body's attempt to enter into relation with the structure it perceives.

The expansion of presence

Under rhythm, the body often takes up more space — extends, reaches, occupies. This expansion is partly the structure permitting it, partly the body expressing its participation. Rhythm creates a frame in which being larger feels possible rather than exposed.

In essence

Rhythm changes how we occupy space because the body aligns itself with the temporal structure it perceives, reorganizing its presence in the process. Rhythm creates a frame that permits a different — often larger — inhabitation of space.

Related questions

Why does some rhythm make us want to move and other rhythm not? Alignment depends on whether the body can find a relation to the structure; not all rhythms invite it equally.

Is this cultural or biological? Both. The impulse is largely biological; the forms it takes are cultural.